HE'S BACK!

Calvinist Gadfly is back in business and I am so happy. Yes I know it is the NEW Calvinist Gadfly with a new approach, but I am still happy. Go read him here.

Cisco Systems estimates that 200 billion spam messages are sent each day. Spam accounts for 90 percent of all e-mail.

Congratulations to my law school alma mater, Texas Tech University School of Law. It was ranked number 17 in the hation as a Best Value law School by National Jurist. Rankings were based on bar passage rate, average indebtedness upon graduation and employment rate after graduation.

Here is a great interactive site showing the different empires that controlled the Middle East at various times in history: http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

THE MYTH OF THE PRACTICAL BIBLE STUDY

I received an invitation in the mail to a “Practical Study” of a certain book of the Bible.

It ticked me off.

Here is why.

This advertisement makes a distinction between a theological study and a practical study. The implication is that a theological study is not practical and, therefore, not as valuable as a practical study. Both the distinction and the implication are wrong.

The Bible itself tells us this approach is wrong. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man (and woman) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We study every scripture because the Holy Spirit will use it to teach us, rebuke us, correct us and train us in righteousness.

This approach also places a higher value on man than on God. In essence it says, I do not want to study theology, I just want to know how to make it through the day. That is why you see so many books with titles such as “Seven Ways to a Happy Marriage” and “Secret Biblical Keys to Wealth”.

What is theology? It is the study of God, the acquisition of knowledge about God. Why is that both important and practical? God is the most important person to the believer. You cannot worship a God you do not know. You cannot live to please God if you do not know what pleases him. While you are busy learning the seven keys to wealth, God is pleased instead with the man or woman who does not seek treasures on earth but treasures in heaven. You cannot glorify God in your life if you do not reflect the character of God.

The so called practical approach that neglects theological passages for ones that say more about specific behavior ignores the teaching of 2 Timothy 3:16 (quoted above), but is also arrogant. Think about this. If all scripture is God breathed, God thought it important enough to inspire men to write it down. He deemed it important enough to preserve through the ages. He deemed it sufficiently important to have it translated into multiple languages. Despite all of this care and concern by God, are you going to say now that it is not important or valuable? I am not.

Luther said, “Divine Scripture is a very fertile tree, and there is no branch which I have not shaken with my own hands, and knocked down a few apples” (Table Talks, no. 5355).

Study theologically. Study theology. Learn about God. It is the most important thing you can do.

A federal judge in Virginia just ruled that ObamaCare is unconstitutional, focusing on the requirement that citizens must buy insurance for pay a penalty.

POOR SPEECH OF THE DAY

From an attorney: "The surcharges are outrageous, you can't get blood out of a turnip...."

You could not say, for example, the surcharges are an unfair burden, or the cost is unreasonable?

I received this in an email today.

Canadians: “Build a Damn Fence!"


From The Manitoba Herald, Canada R20; Reported by Clive Runnels

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The recent actions of the Tea Party are prompting an exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and to agree with Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left before I even got a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?”

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. He then installed loudspeakers that blared Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through and Rush annoyed the cows so much that they wouldn't give any milk.”

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons and drive them across the border where they are simply left to fend for themselves." A lot of these people are not prepared for our rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a single bottle of imported drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley Cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about plans being made to build re-education camps where liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR races.

In recent days, liberals have turned to ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have been disguised as senior citizens taking a bus trip to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans in powdered wig disguises, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior citizens about Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney to prove that they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we become very suspicious about their age." an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and are renting all the Michael Moore movies. "I really feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them." an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

M Apparently while Americans were peacefully debating whether to let Muslims erect a monument to their faith across the street from another monument to the

M ir faith where the killed thousands of people, Muslims were planning to kill thousands more across Europe in coordinated attacks.

OUR NEWEST TRADITION

On the last night in Breckenridge we watch the sun go down from the deck of Starbucks.

The Little Woman liked the chair lift.

We rode the chair lift.

the Little Woman had fun on vacation too.

we found many lovely flowers in Breckinridge Colorado on our vacation.

HOW'S THAT HEALTH CARE THING WORKING FOR YOU?

Nationwide the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 46.3 million in 2008 to 50.7 million in 2009, while the national percentage increased from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent over the same period.

WE'RE NUMBER ONE (just not in a good way)

In the report "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009" the Census Bureau estimates that more than 6 million Texans, or about 25.5 percent of the state’s population, are without health insurance. That makes Texas number 1 in that area.

HEY HOW'S THAT STIMULUS THINGIE GOING?

Census records released Tuesday show household incomes plunged for the second year in a row in 2009. Fewer families earned over $100,000 a year. The number of the poor rose also.

Who would have thought that giving trillions of dollars to governmental entities would not lower the number of poor people or allow more people other than Harry Light Rail Reid to make over $100,000 per year.

The Administration's economic policy is like the old story of crabs boiling in a pot. Every time one wants to escape, the others grab them and pull them back in. In America, every time you try to escape the middle class, the government pulls you back in either by taxing you or enforcing bad economic policy. If you are born rich, you can stay that way. If you are poor, you can get into the middle class. Otherwise, you have to become a politician or a prosperity preacher to make it.

The Haircut

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you , I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I can not accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop.

The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

MORE ON LAS VEGAS

I have never been to Las Vegas or had the desire to. Whenever I think of Las Vegas, my first thought is Viva Las Vegas, the Elvis Presley movie. Here is the song from the movie.

LEAVING LAS VEGAS

Evidently, the great pork project of high speed rail from Congress to Harry Reid is not bringing recovery to Las Vegas. People are leaving in droves.

I THOUGHT TENNIS WAS A GENTEEL SPORT

There was a brawl at the U.S. Open and 3 people were removed from the stands by police. It evidently started when some folks got mad at a guy swearing at them. Pictures!

Jan blogs on living a God centered life in trying times.

interesting first hand view of North Korea. there are actually Christian missionaries there, at least in one small part.

Office Supply Geeks listen up: I give you the Sharpie Pencil. I did you not. Writes like a pen but you can erase it for 72 hours, then it becomes permanent.

The London Telegraph calls President Obama and his administration out of touch and extravagant. Ouch.

The good news is, someone in the federal government is cutting expenses. The bad news is it will cost a lot of jobs. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced that Pentagon budget cuts will include approximately one third of its budget for contractors and an entire command based in Norfolk.

Michelle Obama is taking up 60 hotel rooms in Spain.

The thing I like most about the Democrats is that they believe in equality and treating all Americans alike, the rich not living better than the poor, the powerful living by the same rules as the ordinary, the politicians eschewing privilege.

What are old people going to drive now? The Mercury Marquis is finished. No more after this year. In fact, no more Mercury period. Now, Fords will only have Ford badges and will quit competing with themselves. Maybe Ford got therapy and was cured of multiple personality disorder.

Or maybe they went to business school and learned you compete with your competitors, not yourself. Or economics school where they learned it costs more to make the same car in two different plants with two different badges. Or, well you get the idea.

But seriously, how will I know to change lanes when I come to a stop light now?

Mitch Miller died. He was 99 years old. Hard to imagine there was a sing along show on television.

Government scientists now say the BP well leaked 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. that is about 205 million gallons. You know that one gallon gas can in your garage you use to fill up the lawn mower? Take 205 million of those full of oil and throw them into the Gulf as a visual. That is a lot of oil.

It is such a shame. There will be a lot of environmental damage. There is a huge loss of badly needed oil. Really one of the greater mistakes of our time.

NOW YOU GET YOUR CHANCE MAXINE

The Associated Press reports that the House Ethics Committee panel announced finding evidence that Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat, viotated ethics rules. Maxine vowed to contest the allegations in a public trial.

Game On.

THE PERFECT POLITICAL STORM

So, it’s August and the mid term elections loom large. Do you plan to vote Republican or Democrat?

I’d hate to be a Democrat up for election in November. Here is a partial report card.

First there is the economy. Remember the Clintonistas gloating to Bush the Elder “it’s the economy stupid?” If so, it may be a stupid is as stupid does moment for the Democrats. Despite Congress and the President spending record amounts of your tax money on a so called stimulus package, the economy continues to be mired in recession. The Democrats proved what most of us knew all along: you do not stimulate the economy by giving money to other governmental entities.

You can buy some friends by spending money on governments, such as Harry Reid’s high speed rail to bring gamblers from Los Angeles to Los Vegas to spend money in Reid’s home state. It will not happen any time soon and so will not help recover the economy, but it might buy Reid’s support. However, what we are seeing is Democratic candidates avoiding the president when he comes to town. This is what Bill White is doing in Texas.

Second, there is the coming tax increase apocalypse. If Congress allows the Bush reductions to expire, we will see the largest tax increase in recent history and we will see it in the midst of a recession. How do you think that will go with the American public? You cannot have a recovery if they public does not start spending money. They will not spend money if their budget for next year will be cut by increased taxes to pay for Harry Reid’s train.

It is a two edged sword for the president, however. Given his massive spending, the tax cuts will cut revenue and cause further deficits. The deficit is already growing at an alarming rate. Democrats do not like to cut spending though and it is their principle way to court voters. Granted, the tax increase will not generate as much money as many think because so few of us have to pay taxes. Certainly Washington has for decades treated middle class tax payers like crabs in a hot pot. Whenever you try to climb out, they tax you back in. Very few moderate income earners pay any tax at all or they pay very little.

My advice is to extend the cuts for a least another year and say you are doing it because you feel our pain. Hey, it worked for Bill Clinton.

Third, the wars in the Middle East are dragging on despite campaign promises to end them quickly. In fact, Afghanistan is going poorly. Now that thousands of pages of secret documents have been leaked, who knows what nightmares will be exposed.
Other nations see the war as a problem and are beginning to bail out. The Netherlands ended its combat mission today. The 1,900 Dutch troops are not enough to cause a major troop shortage but the symbolism is critical. The Netherlands is a NATO member, a liberal democracy that should be a natural ally of President Obama and his left wing government, but he cannot hold them in.

Since casualties are increasing and the President’s strategy looks weak, it smells like failure. In addition Canada will withdraw its 2,700 troops in 2011, Poland withdraws its 2,600 soldiers in 2012. I do not think the American public will support the war through 2012 unless the results improve dramatically.
As NATO members and other European countries withdraw, Great Britain and Germany will face pressure from their citizens to pull out. Most Europeans do not have the stomach to fight wars. The French are proving to be the only ones taking the Muslim threat seriously.

The United States will have 100,000 of its citizens fighting in Afghanistan this fall. There were 66 deaths in July alone. If the media covered the losses like they did in Vietnam, the public would clamor for an end to the war. When Nixon was president, even though he inherited the war, they news showed nightly film of body bags and dead soldiers. There were also 270 civilian casualties last month.

Fourth, there are serious ethical problems in the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. Democratic Representative Charles Rangel is facing ethics investigation and sanction. Although rumors of a deal are rampant, Rangel faces an ethics trial in the fall. He is accused of failure to disclose assets, failure to declare income, failure to pay taxes and doing legislative favors for donors to a college. The donations were for a center named after him.

The Associated Press reports today that California representative Maxine Waters may face an ethics trial in the fall also. The allegations may be announced as early as next week. Although the House ethics committee will not make a comment, it is known that Representative Waters is under investigation for conflict of interest after a bank in which her husband owned stock and formerly served as a board member sought federal aid.

Her husband owned about $250,000 in the bank's stock. Waters justifies her actions because she was assisting minority-owned banks. Representative Waters is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. Serving on the Financial Services Committee while your husband is on the board of a bank or invested in a bank sounds like a conflict of interest to me, even before the bank sought federal bail out money. Waters should have resigned her position when her husband got involved in the bank, or declined the position if he was involved in the bank before she received the position. How can you possibly be impartial and act in the best interest of the country when your husband is invested personally and financially in an institution under your regulation? Where I grew up, we called that having the fox guard the hen house.

Both of these Democrats are prominent members of the House of Representatives, given leadership positions by the Democratic Party after winning the majority in the House. Rangel was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Ironically, that committee writes some of the tax law Rangel is accused of violating. Talk about conflict of interest.

Imagine the problem of simultaneous or successive trials right before the election. Given the anti-incumbent mood of the country, this could be a coffin nail.
Fifth, immigration is a hot issue. The President is playing both sides of the fence. He sent troops to the border. He then sued the State of Arizona for trying to protect itself.

I agree immigration should be a federal matter, but the federal government has done nothing to relieve states on the border who are suffering large economic damages due to illegal immigration. If in fact the President favors immigration, he should set up a way for Mexicans to come into the country, register and tested for diseases and criminal records. Everyone who has none of the problems could get an identification card and get to work. Sick people are either treated or sent back. Criminals are sent back. But the President is not proposing any remedy to the problem other than a mass amnesty, which does not solve the problem. (It may create a lot of new Democrat voters though.) I do not oppose immigration from Mexico like many conservatives, but it should be done correctly.

Although it does not directly involve the Obama administration, the JournoList scandal is also a factor. Leaks have proved that liberal journalists conspired to favor liberals and hurt conservatives. They coordinated attacks on Sarah Palin to boost the election chances of Obama and Biden. Were the President and other Democratic leaders elected freely and without fraud and deception if the reporting was biased? Maybe voters will decide they were not and will try and turn them out.

Sadly, very few Americans believe politicians serve the interest of the people. Their faith in their government is shaken. Too many lies have been told. Too many politicians have lined their pockets, done favors for friends and broken the law with impunity.

Few Americans have faith in the objectivity and truthfulness of the press. Too many lies have been told and too many problems have been covered up.

The perfect storm may arrive in November.

It is a bad time to be an incumbent.

I have more pictures, but Blogger is refusing to load them, so we'll have to wait.

Hill Country morning

After listening to lawyers talk for the last three days, I see why jurors don't like to do it.

In support of my theory that there are only a couple of dozen facial types in the world population, I offer this comparison of well know religious guys and entertainers.

WHICH CAME FIRST?

I always thought if it as more of a joke, but evidently a number of people have been concerned over the years to ascertain which came first, the chicken or the egg.

One of those people is Dr. Colin Freeman at Sheffield University. He and some friends at Warwick University (I have never heard of either of these schools)decided to find out "scientifically" the correct answer. (Here imagine Yule Brenner saying "it's scientifice!" in The King and I)

The good doctor used the UK Science Research Council's super-computer (High End Computing Terascale Resource). He "inputted" the chemical composition of eggshells so see what the computer would do with it. Hopefully, it would not lay an egg in the metaphorical sense.

The computer results showed the researchers that a protein, ovocledidin-17 or OC-17, is a key piece in the formation of egg shells. OC-17 exists only in chicken ovaries.

Of course, Dr. Freeman had to take a stab at an evolutionary explanation. He said the ancestors of chickens evolved to create hard eggs around the time of the dinosaurs. The yoke is on you if you think he has a scientific basis for that one. I think it more likely scenario is his fear that his finding would contradict the theory of evolution. You had to have a chicken programmed to produce eggs in order to have subsequent generations of chickens.

Side note: I wonder if the people that ate all the dinosaurs and made them extinct said "it tastes like chicken" when they at them.

The reason I did not spend any time of the supposed condundrum of the chicken and egg is that I had a theological answer. Genesis 1 tells us God created all the living creatures, blessed them and and told them to be fruitful and increase in number. He did not create eggs. He created a chicken to make eggs.

So, the chicken came first.

God make the chicken. Even more, he made a chicken programmed to reproduce its kind and multiply according to his word, down to the little detail of putting a chemical in the female's ovaries that caused the shell to be form and harden and protect the little one.

God pays a lot of attention to detail.

I love that about him.

After meeting with some of my wife's relatives this week end, I came up with a new word.

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

MY REPUTATION IS NOW INTERNATIONAL

I received this email today.

Dearest,

I write to you in tears, most times when I look at myself in the mirror I ask myself "am I going to die and leave this world". I told my private doctor once no to let me die but life and death is not in his hands to decide as I even feel I am going to die. The pain,the trauma,the psychological effect am going through makes me reject this wicked world.I never believed such thing could happen to me.

I am Susan Storch, a 54 years old business woman from Ireland, who has suffered for cancer for more than 12 years now. I don't understand why life has been so good to me and at the same time been so cruel to me.

I expect even if I am dying, my kids should come to see me in the hospital where I have leaved now for more than 10 years. But I have no kids to help or to give me hope.

I want you to come up to inherit my health insurance fund. Valued 2.2m Great Britain Pounds. I want a trusted, God fearing person.

There is absolutely going to be a great doubt and distrust in your mind in respect of this email, coupled with the fact that, so many individuals have taken possession of the Internet to facilitate their deeds, I want this money invested in any business of your chose with its monthly profit from this money Donated to support relief and rebuilding efforts.

I hope to hear from you or get back to me with your direct phone number.

Susan

I notice she says she is in Ireland, but the stuff at the bottom looks German. Hmmm.
___________________________________________________________
Neu: GMX De-Mail - Einfach wie E-Mail, sicher wie ein Brief!
Jetzt De-Mail-Adresse reservieren: http://portal.gmx.net/de/go/demail

You know the honeymoon is over when the comedians start.

The liberals are asking us to give Obama time. We agree . . . and think 25 to life would be appropriate.
--Jay Leno

America needs Obama-care like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask.
--Jay Leno

Q: Have you heard about McDonald's' new Obama Value Meal?
A: Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it.
--Conan O'Brien

Q: What does Barack Obama call lunch with a convicted felon?
A: A fund raiser.
--Jay Leno

Q: What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?
A: One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers, and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners.
--David Letterman

Q: If Nancy Pelosi and Obama were on a boat in the middle of the ocean and it started to sink, who would be saved?
A: America !
--Jimmy Fallon

Q: What's the difference between Obama and his dog, Bo?
A: Bo has papers.
--Jimmy Kimmel

Q: What was the most positive result of the "Cash for Clunkers" program?
A: It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.
--David Letterman

WAYNE’S WORLD

Wayne Dyer, Ph. D., gives the following tip for success:

“Live in a supportive universe. If you see the world as an unfriendly place, you will have a handy excuse for any failure -- something always will seem to stand in your way. Instead, view the universe as helpful.

Strategy: Remind yourself frequently that the universe is trying to help you achieve your goals. Soon people and events will stop conspiring against you and start conspiring to assist you.

Example: In an unfriendly universe, if your car breaks down, the 100 drivers who don’t stop to help are proof that the world is out to get you. If your car breaks down in a supportive universe, the 101st driver who does stop is evidence that the universe is on your side. This attitude will keep you in a state of contentment and peace instead of anxiety. It also enables you to attract the right people into your life.”

Notice the personalization of the universe. He says the universe is trying to help you.

No, Wayne.

The universe is a collection of impersonal objects. It is the space that contains galaxies, planets, stars and lots of empty space. It is actually more empty than full. Emptiness does not want anything, it is the absence of everything.

This reminds me somewhat of Carl Sagan, the former scientist and writer, who hosted the show “Cosmos” and said that word in every other sentence. Sagan, late in life, said we could worship the Cosmos.

The Bible says the universe, the cosmos, was created by God. Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It is the first verse in the Bible for a reason. The writer, inspired by God, wanted people to know that everything started with God. He made the universe, he owns it, he controls it and he may do with it what he will.

It’s not only in Genesis, though, that the Bible makes the claim. It says it over and over. Here are a few examples in the English Standard Version.

Isaiah 40:26 says “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them (stars, planets etc.) all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.” God made them, he numbered and named them, showing they are his and subject to his will, and he kept track of them.

In Isaiah 45:12, God says “ I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.”

Colossians 1:16 says “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

Yet, men want to reject God, refusing to submit to his authority. They even deny his existence and his creation. In short, they refuse to worship him.

The problem is, men and women are made to worship. Rejection of God does not result in atheism, total unbelief, very often. Rather it leads to idolatry, the worship of other so called gods. That is what Dyer and others do when they personalize the inanimate universe and especially when they attribute power to it to control human life. This is usually couched either in philosophical terms, as with Dyer, or in pseudo-scientific terms, as with Sagan, but is just window dressing for astrology, the belief that stars and planets affect human destiny.

The Bible addresses this phenomenon. Romans 1:24 says “ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!” They key here is they exchanged worship of the Creator, God, for worship of the creature, or creation. Worship of the universe, or cosmos, is, in God’s eye, no better than the worship of wooden idols, trees or animals.

God gave them up because he left plenty of evidence that there is a creator. Romans 1:19 says “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

In other words, the beauty and intricacy of creation speaks to the qualities of the creator, particularly his eternal power and divine nature. No one without great power could create the universe and no one could keep it going unless his power is eternal. No one could create all this unless he is divine, for man cannot do it.

Thomas Jefferson, a Deist, recognized this. He said, in an 1823 letter to John Adams:

". . . I hold (without appeal to revelation) that when we take a view of the Universe, in it's parts general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to perceive and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom of it's composition. The movements of the heavenly bodies, so exactly held in their course by the balance of centrifugal and centripetal forces, the structure of our earth itself, with it's distribution of lands, waters and atmosphere, animal and vegetable bodies, examined in all their minutest particles, insects mere atoms of life, yet as perfectly organised as man or mammoth, the mineral substances, their generation and uses, it is impossible, I say, for the human mind not to believe that there is, in all this, design, cause and effect, up to an ultimate cause, . . ."

What is the result of man’s rejection of God in the face of the evidence he left in creation? The result is God’s wrath. The Bible says it this way: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Men and women who reject God will incur his wrath.

Wrath is extreme anger and fury. We are not to have it. God has the right to it.

God has displayed his wrath on several occasions recorded in the Bible, always as a result of men and women rejected him. The first example is the sin of Adam and Eve, rejecting the command of God and following Satan’s advice. God banished them from his presence in the Garden, cursed the ground and imposed death on them and the whole human race.

In the time of Noah, God expressed his wrath on the wickedness of men and women by destroying the earth in a flood.

God expressed his wrath on Israel, who had rejected God by practicing idolatry, by letting them be conquered and taken into captivity in Babylon. He even let the Babylonians destroy his temple.

God expressed his wrath on Israel again, for their rejection of Christ, by letting the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Temple and kill a million or so people.

All of these are types of the ultimate expression of God’s wrath which will occur at the final judgment. The book called “Revelation” shows God expressing his wrath partially in increasingly terrible ways to get man’s attention. Then, finally, those who reject him are banished from his presence like Adam and Eve, but to everlasting torment, not to a cursed earth.

This, of course, means we are all in trouble. We have all rejected God at some point and refused to follow his rules. The Bible calls that sin and says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So, we all become objects of God’s wrath. Yikes! What can we do?

The good news is God provided a way out. He provided a way to punish sin and allow us to escape his wrath. He did that by sending his son, Jesus, to take the punishment for us. He put our sin on Jesus when he died on the cross. If we believe that he is God’s son and did in fact die for our sin, and commit to follow him, we receive the benefit of his death for us. Then we avoid God’s wrath and, instead, experience his love and eternal life.

The universe, the creation, will not save you. The creation will not respond to your worship.

The Creator demands it.

HUMOROUS EMAIL

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired, "Where have you been?"

God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused."

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things."

God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, "What's that one?"

"That's Texas, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and plains.
The people from Texas are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, "But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance."

God smiled, "I will create Washington, D.C. Wait till you see the idiots I put there."

He Lives: Comparative Views of the End Times (Lesson 2-2)

Here is a good summary of the various theological positions regarding the end times, or in theological latin speak, eschatological views, from my friend David Heddle.

He Lives: Comparative Views of the End Times (Lesson 2-2)

Now, this is a parking garage. Bring it to Fort Worth.

"Lawyers, I suppose, were children once." Charles Lamb, 19th century British Lawyer.

Finally, a person with absolutely no prejudices.

TIMES SQUARE BOMBER PLEADED GUILTY TODAY

Faisal Shahzad was indicted in Manhattan federal court Thursday on 10 charges related to the attempted bombing of Times Square. He pleaded guilty today to those charges.

Here is a great picture of the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) from the space station.

MY KIND OF FATHER

William Atwood Sr., of Temecula, California, is accused of using a stun gun on a 23 year old man who sent his 17 year old daughter an explicit cell phone picture. He was charged with multiple felonies.

The explicit picture was a picture of the 23 year old's genitals. If it had been my daughter, I would have tased them in person.

In most places, this is illegal. Many places are even prosecuting minors who do this to minors. Certainly, if an adult man exposed his genitals in person to any other person, underage or not, he would be prosecuted for indecency. Just not in California.

The one thing I can fault Atwood for, he only shocked Moore on the shoulder for about 20 seconds. Moore should feel fortunate, rather than filing criminal charges. Had it been my daughter, you'd still be able to smell the flesh burning down the street.

No charges have been filed against Moore for the naked photo.

What a world. Someone should start an Internet fund for this father's bail and attorney fees.

If you think the Jews do not have a lot of influence in America any more, this will prove you wrong. Helen Thomas, who has covered the White Housefor the Times since 1960, and who continually and harshly criticized President Bush, announced her IMMEDIATE retirement. This startling announcement just happens to come right after she said Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine."

On a humorous note, Helen should note that the Jews have been trying to get the Hell out of Israel for years so they could live there in peace. Israel, by the way Helen, is where they live, not Palestine. There is no Palestine.

you can't make this stuff up

In Great Britain, which has Obamacare of sorts, a 58-year-old transsexual sued to make the state funded health service pay for breast enlargement, because she\he failed to develop nice ones after hormone therapy. No, seriously, this is true.

The good news for civilization is she\he lost her case.

Now, she\he says this violates her human rights.

There is now a "medical" name for people who want to mutilate their bodies to become another gender. They have "gender identity disorder (GID)". It sounds better than "seriously screwed up" (SSU) doesn't it?

The government will actually pay for the gender transformation, by the way, just not bigger breasts. And the government paid for her lawyers to file the suit. Maybe the will pay for someone to sympathize with she\he for being a small breasted trans-sexual instead of a large breasted trans-sexual.

I wonder if there is a syndrome for people who feel they are really birds trapped in a human body? We could call it "species identity disorder" (SID). People with SID, at least in Great Britain, could go to the state run and funded health clinic and get wings and beaks grafted on. Of course, the government would then need to pay for flying lessons.

The government would also need to furnish a mama bird to drop worms in the mouth of the SID sufferer so that they could have the whole bird experience of which they were cruelly deprived by their Creator. Otherwise, the counseling bills will be enormous.

Next, the government would need to set aside trees and the tops of buildings for nesting grounds, and furnish large twigs and lint and string so the SID sufferor could build a sufficient nest.

Every human should have the right to become a bird. It is cruel and unusual punishment to trap a bird in a human body.

I'll bet they didn't think of this in the health care bill. Although, there do appear to be a lot of vultures in Congress.

where is the howling?

We have the biggest oil spill of all time spreading across the Gulf of Mexico. The federal government, the President, has done nothing about it. Where is the howling?

Post Katrina, all you heard about was where is the government to help us? Even though the state had the primary duty, the press went wild on President Bush and hammered him day after day for not responding soon enough.

Yet, here we are with a matter that could only be handled by the federal government, and it sits back and watches BP try to fix it.

"Persecution" Does Not Include Taking A Beating When You Deserve It: A Word to the Pope

When Pope Bendict XVI (hereinafter simply "the pope") arrived in Portugal, he said "The greatest persecution of the church doesn't come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sins within the church." I agree with the part where he says they brought it on themselves.

I do not agree it is persecution. Calls for the Roman Catholic Church to be accountable for molesting children is not persecution. Calls for transparency and documentation of what you knew, when you knew, and what you did about it are not persecution.

Child abuse scandals are showing up all over the globe, as priests have molested those most vulnerable ones in their care. If another organization, any other organization in the world, showed this patter of child sexual abuse and cover up, there would be world wide calls for accountability, prosecution and punishment. I do not see any reason the RCC should be immune to that.

1 Peter 2:20 says "But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?"

Every priest that abused a child should be prosecuted. Every church official that helped him do it by covering it up, transferring him to another parish with no warning, bribing or coercing the victims to stay silent, quashing investigations etc., should be prosecuted as parties to the crime, for they aided and abetted the criminal.

That is not persecution. Let's not call it that. If you want to make a statement of contrition just say, we really sinned and we deserve what we get. Bring it on and we'll take it.

Oh, and let's quit saying we have a store of good works we can use to sell indulgences. I think the thousands of sex abuse cases depleted that bank.

"The Old English Puritan was such an one, that honored God above all..." from The Character of an Old English Puritan or Non-Conformist, by Master John Geree.

I would like to see Southern Baptists be more like the Puritans, honoring God over programs, politics and posterity. Living to please him in the conduct of our lives. Whatever might be said of us, it would be said "they do everything to honor God and not themselves".

At the end of his essay, Geree wrote "He (the Puritan) was a man of tender heart, not only in regard of his own sin, but others misery, not counting mercy arbitrary, but a necessary duty..."

There is a lot of misery around us. Some are miserably unemployed. Some are miserably divorced, or miserably married, or miserably single. Some are miserably sick. Some are miserably poor.

I love the Puritans. You know this if you know me. I love them because they sought to live all of life for Christ, to the glory of God. They examined life. They thought about what they did and how it should be done to the glory of God. They examined the Bible to see what it said about everything, then applied it.

Just as the Old Testament tells us not to have a closed hand toward the poor, we need an open heart, a tender heart in Geree's words.

Saturday, you can donate food to the poor by setting it out by your mailbox. Mail carriers will pick it up and deliver it. You cannot get easier than that.

Be tender hearted. Alleviate someone's misery. Demonstrate the love of Christ.

Honor God above all.

Godspeed.

AN ARREST HAS BEEN MADE

A man from Pakistan, a naturalized citizen, has been arrested in the Times Square bombing. Anyone want to be me he is neither Christian or Jewish?

ABC says police have a possible suspect for the Times Square Bombing.

OH NO - NOT A TASK FORCE! ANYTHING BUT THAT!

You know it is getting serious: a task force has been formed to investigate the Times Square attempted bombing.

Government workers define a task force as something created to make the public think something constructive is being done about a problem no one knows how to solve.

The Washington Post is reporting that the attempted car bombing in Times Square is an act of terrorism with international links.

see pictures of my beautiful grand daughter here.

IRAN USES AIR FORCE TO LOOK FOR SUNBATHERS

The U.S. Navy reports that an Iranian jet buzzed a Navy ship out in international waters. No one knows why.

I think I do. They were looking for sunbathers! After announcing last week that women with suntans would be arrested and beaten, the Iranian government has no doubt taken to the air to make sure no sunbathing is happening in or around Iran. After all, they believe it causes earthquakes. I guess that is what happened in Haiti.

So, where more likely than a ship on a cruise, would you find sunbathers. So they sent a spy plane to look. I'm guessing, though, that they did not find any, or they would have opened fire.

IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON SUNTANNED WOMEN

Iran warns that women with suntans may be arrested and beaten. It just makes you want to live there and embrace Islam, does it not? Especially if you are a woman.

Why women all over the world are not up in arms demanding that their governments oppose the encroachment of Islam is beyond me.

"I am not a monster. I am innocent."

Those are the words of Reverend Ruggero Conti, Roman Catholic priest, said in court regarding accusations that he abused boys in his church. Unfortunately, it sounds way too much like "I am not a crook" and "I did not have sex with that woman". And we know how false those statements proved to be.

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS “SUPERMAN”

Last night the Baby, the Little Woman and I watched the 2006 movie Superman Returns, directed by Brian Singer. The movie has Superman returning to Earth after an absence of five years spent looking for his home world, Krypton.

In his absence, Lex Luthor is released from prison and resumes his evil ways. The legal explanation is clumsy, but no one other than lawyers are likely to notice. Luthor finds Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, steals the crystal and creates a new continent made partially of Kryptonite. Despite that, Superman manages to throw it into space, practically killing himself.

Superman then fell to earth and laid in the hospital for a few days, before recovering and resuming his super ways.

The movie was pretty entertaining, although I found it more interesting for its symbolism and irony than for the action.

The first irony is that Superman isn’t. He is not a man at all, in the sense of being human. He is an alien from another planet. He is not one of us, although he looks like one of us.

The second irony is that the theme of the Superman myth is that his father sent him to Earth and told him humans had a great capacity to be good, they just needed someone to show them “the light”, whatever that is. However, Superman spends all of his time fighting evil, for which humans seem to have an unlimited capacity. In fact, in this movie, while Superman is gone, Lois Lane wrote an article entitled “Why the World Does Not Need Superman”. The movie then goes on to prove, and she later admits, the world does indeed need him, and not to show them the light, but to keep the darkness from overwhelming them.

The story is heavy with Christ symbolism. Superman is sent to Earth by his Father, Christ was sent by his. Superman is perfect, Christ is perfect. After Lex Luthor creates the ultimate evil (in this case a new continent that will flood America and kill millions), Superman took in on himself at the cost of his life. Christ took sin on himself at the cost of his life.

Christ dies and was buried. Superman fell to earth and lay in a great crater, then in a hospital bed with no life signs. Christ rose on the 3rd day. Superman rose after a few days (it may have been three, but I was getting sleepy by then and did not count).

The movie started me thinking (I know, uh oh) about how much and why we like super heroes. The movies are full of them. Superman has been the subject of many movies. Comic book publishes made their industry thrive on a variety of super heroes. They are on television and in novels. Even the current object of fascination, vampires, have super human capability.

I think people realize that the world really does need someone other than man or woman to fix things. They often think politicians will do it. You see this reverential, messiah like context with President Obama. They used to think the United Nations would solve everything, at least before they became major child molesters, rapists, and thieves in their projects.

There is, of course, no Superman. Almost all who have claimed any superiority have been felled by scandal. The Pope, for example, who used to be untouchable, has been tarnished by the continual revelation of child sexual abuse by priests.

What the world needs is Christ. He is the one who sets things right, who takes sin and evil and bears it to deliver us. He gives us the light, the capacity to do and be good. But, most people do not seem to want him. Why would you want Superman and not the God Man? I think it is because Superman does not make moral judgments about the common man. Sure he fights the super evil, but he does not sit down with Lois Lane and say “Lois, you are a sinner. You need to repent and believe in me.” He just dazzles her with his flying and manly good looks. He takes care of all the problems and asks nothing in return.

Christ, on the other hand, demands worship and obedience. He says he is God, not just a man. Plutarch wrote "The answer of the seventh philosopher to Alexander's question, how a man might become a god, was, 'By doing that which was impossible for man to do.'” Even in Roman times, man needed a hero to deliver him.

Christ does not say you are good, you just need a little nudge to get better. He says you are bad and only he can make you good, and then only by paying the price for your badness and having his Father declare you are good and can now spend eternity with Him.

Tremendous photographs of Iceland's volcano. I like the lightening ones best.

HAITI DROPS ALMOST ALL CHARGES AGAINST MISSIONARIES

Remember the Baptist missionaries who were arrested and charged with kidnapping because they did not have the proper paperwork to take kids out of the earthquake ravaged country?

A Haitian judge dropped the kidnapping charges against all 10 U.S. missionaries. However, Laura Silsby, the only one who is still in jail, still has a charge accusing her of organizing the illegal transport of 33 children. This goes back to the paperwork issue. The maximum sentence for that charge is 3 years in jail. Silsby has now been in jail for several months.

Dear Republican National Committee,

I would be more inclined to donate money in response to your weekly pleas (thinly and repeatedly disguised as surveys) if the following were not true:

Both the national Democratic and Republican party committees spend about two-thirds of the money they receive on themselves and on efforts to raise evem more funds, two thirds of which they will also spend on themselves, including limousines, fancy hotels, and, of course, expensive meals.

Also, of course, if you had not passed that really bad, expensive budget in President Bush's last term, but I've already written about that.

I really don't want to pay for you to eat lavishly or even to "wine and dine" big donors with lavish meals. They can afford their own. I don't eat lavishly and you should not either.

If I were a Democrat, I would really be upset, because they portray themselves as champions of the common man, the working class party, but their leaders live in high style at their expense.

It is pretty much the same every where. Even in communist and socialist countries, the leaders live very well while the working guy suffers. A pox on all of you.

(Note to the blog police and political correctness enforecers of our current government: this is an expression of disgust and not a threat of violence or terrorism and no physical harm is really meant or intended. Please go back to your fancy dinners and leave me alone.)

ANNIVERSARY OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, when Timothy McVeigh set off a home made bomb that destroyed the federal building and killed 168 people. It is hard to imagine anything that could make you feel justified to kill 168 of your neighbors, including children in daycare.

Look for the liberal news guys to tie it to the Tea Party and general libertarian feelings. They are not the same, however. America has a long past of demonstrations and protests against government actions, including liberal protests against various wars.

One thing you probably will not hear about is the fuel for McVeigh's rage. It was the government's raid on the Koresh compound outside of Waco. What you will not hear much about is how Janet Reno ordered the invasion of the compound by men dressed in black commando outfits, armed with automatic weapons, right here on American soil. They caused the compound to be burned to the ground. Men, women and children were killed. This was done even though Koresh was known to come into town, where he could easily have been detained, if necessary.

But there is a big question about whether it was necessary. Sure, Koresh was a bit cooky, having spintered off the 7th Day Adventist church to form his own group and writing all kinds of apocalyptic literature. But, basically staying with his little group in the compound and not hurting anyone.

So, maybe we should balance the reporting. Tell the horrors of the domestic terrorist. But also tell the horrors of governmental terrorism on its citizens.

I think this is especially relevant this year as the Obama administration considers whether to take out a hit on a U.S. citizen who belongs to a terrorist organization. We all hate those Al-Qaeda guys, right, so no one cares too much if we kill one. However, he is not a foreign national conduction a war like operation of terror. He is an American. If he committed the crimes and we catch him, what do we do with him? We put him in jail, present his case to a grand jury and ask for an indictment. If we get one, we put him on trial. If he is convicted, he goes to jail. We don't execute him without a trial.

Why should you care?

Well, who defines who is a terrorist? Janet Reno and Bill Clinton defined it for Koresh. Who might President Obama define? You won't argue with this Muslim that advocates and even plans killings. But, what if you define some things as hate speech? What if you think the Tea Party is really disrupting government? How low can you go?

As a side note, does anyone think it rather odd that President Obama advocating the closure of Gitmo and civil trials for foreign terrorists, then seriously considers executing a U. S. citizen without a trial?

America is becoming an interesting place.

IRAQ GOVERNMENT GOES AFTER THE ENEMY BIG TIME

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced today that an Iraqi intelligence team killed al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of al Qaeda's local group of insurgents, the Islamic State of Iraq.

Flights are being cancelled all over Europe due to the ash from the Icelandic volcano eruption. Worldwide travel will be interrupted and delayed. Heathrow in England, a major international hub, is closed, as are many others.

We, as humans, feel very advanced and safe until a "natural" catastrophe occurs. Then, all of our technology and science and ability is useless. The volcano erupted, spewed ash into the air and we only watched and wondered how much damage it would do.

It is likely no one in England got up yesterday thinking, I wonder if something will happen around the world that will affect me. Yet, it has. Back in the 1800s, an eruption in Asia prevented spring and summer from arriving in New England, the cloud of ash was so strong.

There was a huge earthquake in Haiti a while back, then a bigger one in Chile. Now there is a massive volcanic eruption. Maybe it is time to reflect on the fact that we are relatively small and there is someone bigger. Maybe that someone even wants to bring that to our attention.

And here is a thought for you. If that Someone Bigger, let's call him God for the sake of this discussion, used those catastrophe's to draw attention to himself and his power, and it caused many to repent and believe, would these catastrophes not be a work of grace?

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since wht may be know about God is plaint to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creationof the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal powr and divine nature-have been clearly see, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:21-23

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Acts 3:19.

FREE NURSING DEGREE AVAILABLE

If you want to get a degree and help out a hospital with a nurse shortage, here is your chance. It is made available by the HRSA Nursing Scholarship Program
Accepting Applications through May 6

The Health Resources and Services Administration's Nursing Scholarship Program is accepting applications until May 6. It pays for tuition, education-related expenses (including books, clinical supplies and laboratory fees) and even a living stipend.

Nurses must commit to work for at least two years after graduation at a health facility with a critical shortage of nurses.

Call 800/221-9393for details.

Preference will be given to qualified applicants with the greatest financial need who are enrolled full-time in an undergraduate registered nursing program.

You will have to begin classes for the fall term on or after July 1 and no later than Sept. 30 of this year.

There are about 500 awards available for the 2010-11 school year.

It's not a free lunch, but it sounds like a good deal if you want to be a nurse and are short of funds.

Even the Washington Post thinks the President's nuclear policy is stupid. Charles Krauthammer puts for the scenario that thousands of U.S. citizens could be killed in an anthrax or gas attack, and we could not respond with nuclear weapons if the attacking country had signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Here is a good flow chart of potential Supreme Court nominees, with pictures.

whip me, beat me, call me Edna.

You can't make me nuke you.

Obama.

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEVENS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Liberal justice John Paul Stevens has just announced he will step down from the court this summer, likely in June or July. His resignation has been expected, as he has strongly hinted he would resign, having waited for a liberal to take the White House and name his replacement.

Stevens is 89 and soon to be 90.

Stevens is the leader of the liberal faction on the court. The President will surely replace him with a liberal, so the numbers on the court will not change. Stevens, however, was well regarded even by the conservative members and could at times muster a majority, bringing in the swing votes. The new justice will not have that kind of clout at the beginning of his or her term.

Since the President will likely appoint someone relatively young, it does guarantee a long term liberal justice in this position.

FORT WORTH MAIN STREET ARTS FESTIVAL

The annual Arts Festival has arrived to Main Street in downtown Fort Worth. I strolled about one third of the way through during lunch. It was a gorgeous day, though windy. Well, it is spring in North Texas after all.

There is much to see. In my short trip, I saw art glass, pottery, photography, painting, mobiles, sculpture and collage. It was very interesting and some was outstanding. There are many activities for kids, so take them! There is a plethora of junk food if you are inclined. It was hard for me to stay away from the funnel cake booth, but I did.

This picture is of a mobile. They always have a display of several in the parking lot on Main Street. These are just gorgeous.

There are performers playing all kinds of music of different kinds. I hope to return with the Little Woman.

Joanna, of "Grace In The Home" fame, made this cake for us for our Easter lunch.

THINKING ABOUT HEAVEN

One of the funny things about people is our desire to know what we cannot know and speculate about it. When we do this, we often ignore the knowledge we do have. Heaven is one of those topics that inspire speculation.

Movies have portrayed heaven in terms of clouds and harps and people wearing white.

People even write books claiming they have gone there and returned to tell the tale. This is particularly sad, since the one person we can believe this happened to is the apostle Paul, and he said we cannot do that. He did not use his own name, but referred to one who had been taken into the third heaven, which is Biblical terminology for what we call Heaven, the abode of God.

Interestingly, Paul did not say what he saw there. In fact, he said it was not allowed!

Paul told the story in 1 Corinthians 12. He was caught up to Paradise, the third heaven. "He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell." 1 Corinthians 12:4. If God would not let Paul, the last apostle, speak of the things in heaven, why would he let someone today, even if they could go and return (which I do not believe).

In addition to all this, a person who claims more knowledge of heaven than is revealed in Scripture is denying the authority of Christ and the sufficiency of Scripture. God chose to reveal some things to us, but not all. Hebrews 1 tells us God has spoken to us in these days by the word of Christ. That word is contained in the New Testament. The New Testament is closed. To claim direct revelation is to dispute the canon of Scripture and claim the status of the Old Testament prophet, receiving direct revelation from God outside of Scripture. Although there are a few Pentecostal leaders who claim this privilege, in effect elevating themselves over Christ and the Bible, orthodox believers, mainstream Evangelicals, do not not.

In case I cannot say it clearly enough, let me quote one of my favorite theologians.

"There is no need for us to speculate about the precise nature of heaven. We are assured on the authority of Jesus Christ that it is the house and the home of his Father and ours (there are twenty-two references to the Father in John 14), that his home is a prepared place containing many rooms or resting places, and that he himself will be there. What more do we need to know? To be certain that where he is, there we shall be also should be enough to satisfy our curiosity and allay our fears." John Stott.

I guess the United Nations likes me saying bad things about them; they sent me this email:


REF/07/04/10;United Nations Qualification Numbers for a grant award of $515,810.00 USD is UN/01/2010/459. Contact: @ Tel:+447023064797 e-mail: sd.unverification@live.com for claims detail.United Nations, Fee charge to be paid is GBP 150 Pounds reply for details.

does this mean the fee is 150 pounds of anything?

Funny that the award is in dollars but the fee is in pounds, huh.

wonder if they do C.O.D.?

Sad News Today

I just heard that Michael Spencer, The Internet Monk, died this week of cancer.

I also just heard that Bruce Waltke, Old Testament Professor at RTS Orlando resigned due to a flap over a video in which he appeared. He has taken the position that evolution and the Bible can be reconciled. Interestingly, he still believes in a historical Adam and Eve.

Comcast won its court challenge against the FCC concerning FCC authority to regulate the Internet.

Believe it or not, there are some people out there who think I drink a lot of coffee. Just because I teach Sunday School with a Starbucks cup in my hand does not mean I am an addict.

Nonetheless, here are some thought about coffee. You know you have had too much coffee when:

* You can type 60 words per minute with your toes.

* Intant coffee takes too long.

* You chew on other people's finger nails.

* You answer the door before people knock.

* You sleep with your eyes open.

* You only sleep so you can wake up and smell the coffee.

* You are the employee of the month at Starbucks and you do not even work there.

* You go to AA meetings just for the coffee.

This has all kind of made me want a cup. I think I'll head home early and stop at Starbucks.

"The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, whcih is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are." C. H. Spurgeon.

BEING FRIENDS WITH CHINA IS COMPLICATED

A city in China has been identified as the major source of cyber crime.

The question is, is this state sponsored terrorism? It would seem counter productive to try and ruin the U.S. economy when China holds a big portion of our debt. Is it private, but the government looks the other way? Is it private, and China has less control of things than they thing?

Maybe I should be worried: my blogger screen came up in some foreign language this morning. We'll see how it goes.

"Thus the only limit to the Christian’s generosity will be a limit which love itself may impose." John Stott

MY WORK WEEK IN COLLAGE

NOTE TO THE VATICAN: LET'S RETHINK THAT DEFENSE

The Vatican's latest response to criticism for the rampant child sexual abuse committed by its priests is hey, it's not unique to the Roman Catholic Church. In other words, we are just like every one else.

The problem, of course, is that the RCC says it is NOT like everyone else. The Pope is supposed to be the vicar of Christ on earth, the very voice of God, and its priests annoited with special grace and blessing.

You can't have it both ways. (Pause here for a "duh" moment.)

LEAVING NORMAL

The world's smallest man died today. He Pingping was about two and one half feet tall. He was only 21, but died of heart problems.

Pingping seemed to enjoy some of the benefits of his recent fame. He traveled, he appeared on television and he made some money. It was a dressed up version of the circus freak show, sadly, with people paying money to witness his oddity. He was willing to accept the money and attention his oddness brought.

But Pingping's dream was not television. He wanted to get married and have children. He wanted to be normal. That thing that many take for granted and against which many rebel was his dream. He wanted a wife and kids, something not likely attainable for a man with primordial dwarfism.

Most people want to be normal. They want to look like everyone else, have what everyone else has and do what everyone else does. You see it strikingly in teenagers, who become intensely aware of their differences, real or imagined, from the pack. As they try to find themselves, they fear being ostracized from the pack more than anything else. They will wear whatever the pack wears, speak the language of the pack and do what the pack does, good or bad.

Adults are not much better. If the men in their group wear jeans and boots, so will they. The women will wear the same style of clothes. If the pack leader gets pregnant, all the others will follow in short order.

Many want to be super normal, or normal but better. They want to be beautiful, not just pleasant, athletic, not just coordinated, tall, not just average. No one wants to be subnormal.

However, those who originally wanted to be super normal, or extraordinary, often find themselves later wishing to be normal again. The actress gets tired of being followed by photographers. The football player would like to go to the movies without attracting a crowd. They could do that if they were normal.

But, on a deeper level, super normal creates emotional problems. The beautiful woman will always wonder if her man loves her for who she is, not for her prominent cheek bones or wide set eyes. The rich man wonders if his woman loves him or his money.

In our soul, we want to be normal and we want to be loved for it.

This is also what we want from God. We want to be normal human beings and we want God to accept us for who we are.

I received an email newsletter from a youth organization whose leader I met a few years ago (and who wants me to support him financially). The letter raved about a recent event the youth attended. The leader interviewed kids and asked what great thing they learned. A young man was quoted as saying his self esteem had been greatly raised because he learned that God loved him as he is and no matter what he did.

Pause of the buzzer to sound.

Unfortunately, many evangelicals teach this, and many Americans want to believe it. God is very loving and tolerant and cool.

Actually, God says no to that. God says each man and woman misses God's mark. His favorite word for that is sin. For example, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". That means all normal people miss God's mark of perfection.

He also said what you get for sin is death. He said sin separates you from God. He said there will be a judgment for all who miss the mark and they will spend eternity in a place with all the others who also missed the mark and rebel against God's standards and pay the price for it.

In short, normal does not cut it.

Fortunately, God provided help. He sent the super normal man, the God man, his son. His son, Jesus Christ, took a normal body but lived a super normal life without missing God's mark one time. Despite being not just good but perfect, he died to pay the penalty for all our mark misses. When we believe in him, we get the benefit of that. God says the penalty is paid and he can accept us, because we are no longer normal, but saved from normality by the price paid, the death of Jesus.

KILLER LOOKS FOR PROM

I got an email with this title from Dillards. My first thought it was from Drudge Report about some serial killer out looking for a prom so he could kill a lot of teen agers.

I decided that can't be right.

Then I thought, maybe Dillards is marketing a line of clothes modeled after famous serial killers. For example, the "Charles Manson" would feature a temporary swastika for the forehead, a long wig and hobo clothes. The "John Gacy" would be a clown suit.

I decided that can't be right.

So, I opened the email and downloaded the pictures. The ad featured a young man that looked a little like someone in the Mad Men cast with a black suit and tie and big black glasses (OK, what we in high school would have called the nerd suit.) Then a girl in some wildly hot pink dress. That, I guess would be typical, because there is some unwritten law that half the girls at prom must wear colors that do not appear anywhere in nature. And no, a Pepto Bismol bottle is not nature.

Then the third girl had a little black pill box hat with a small veil, sort of the 1960 vintage I just lost my husband look.

Sounds like prom will be a lot of fun this year.

YOU'RE FIRED!

Donald Trump told an interviewer that Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize should be taken away. I guess DT does not like people who publicize themselves shamelessly, do anything for money, travel about the world trying to get on tv and want to be famous.

My friend, Dr. David Heddle, has decided to update his eschatology notes over at "He Lives". David is a great thinker and it should be good.

He gets started with a good look at verse one, which most people jump right over. The key is the word "soon". Check it out.

IS SEXUAL FIDELITY REALLY ILLOGICAL?

Many claim it is. Telling kids not to have sex before marriage, encouraging married people to be faithful to each other, all are ridiculed in our society. Well, forget theology for a moment, and consider this.

The Centers for Disease Control ("CDC") tracks diseases in the United States. The CDC has some compelling information about sexually transmitted diseases.

First, consider that 1 in 6 Americans infected with herpes. More than 10 percent of Americans have this disease. In fact, almost 17% of those between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes.

More women than men have herpes for some reason. 21 percent of women have it. 11.5 percent of men have it.

The other bad news is that there is no cure for genital herpes. Although the drug commercials show beautiful people with herpes doing wonderful things, the truth is it causes recurring, painful genital sores. It also increases a person's chances of getting AIDS.

This is just one of a handful of sexually transmitted diseases that are a problem. There are 19 million new sexually transmitted disease infections every year.

So now, how impractical and old fashioned does sexual fidelity sound now? America can have a STD epidemic, or it can go back to a more conservative sexual culture.

President Obama should be interested in this also. STDs cost the health care system about $16 billion annually.

ONE MORE THING BENNY HINN CAN'T HEAL: HIS MARRIAGE

Suzanne "holy ghost enema" Hinn filed for divorce in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1st. She claimed irreconcilable differences. Benny and Suzanne have been married for more than 30 years.

It will be interesting to see if details come out about Benny's financial empire.

A LITTLE HUMOR FOR TODAY

A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, ' I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir.'

The driver says, 'Gee, officer I had it on cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating. '

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says: 'Now don't be silly dear, you know that this car doesn't have cruise control.'

As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, 'Can't you please keep your mouth shut for once?'

The wife smiles demurely and says, 'You should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did.'

As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, 'Damit, woman, can't you keep your mouth shut?'

The officer frowns and says, 'And I notice that you're not wearing your seat belt, sir. That's an automatic $75 fine.'

The driver says, 'Yeah, well, you see officer, I had it on, but took
it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket.'

The wife says, 'Now, dear, you know very well that you didn't have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you're driving.'

And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket the driver turns to his wife and barks, 'WHY DON'T YOU PLEASE SHUT UP??'

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, 'Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma'am?'

'Only when he's been drinking.

When I invited Jesus into my life, I thought he was going to put up some wallpaper and hang a few pictures. But he started knocking out walls and adding on rooms. I said "I was expecting a nice cottage." but he said, "I'm making a palace in which to live." C. S. Lewis.

OH THOSE YOUNGS

It is not every day that a well known father and son make the news at the same time. And, as is typical in Southern Baptist life, it is not a good thing. Ed Young Sr. is in the blogging news for his sermon on America's tax system. Now, why in the world you would devote pulpit time to the tax system is beyond me. If he heard someone taking pulit time to promote Obama, he would be furious. They only thing he should say about the tax system is "render unto Caesar".

But, he may have been hoping to reform the tax system for the benefit of his son, Ed Young Jr. Junior carries on dad's legacy of pastoring really large churches. Junior is in the news, the MSM type of news, for his lavish lifestyle of big houses and fancy cars.

Men love to build empires, don't they. Some do it in churches.

It is snowing really hard right now. Great big flakes are falling almost straight down. Is this what manna looked like?

It is amazing how fast the flakes fall. It is as if they are racing each other to the ground. I get the tree! I get the car. Oh, I want in Larry's Starbucks cup. Ouch, not a good idea.

We will even up with at least 6 inches of snow or even more at this rate. This is an amazing event for Fort Worth, Texas.

Now THAT'S what I call a study. I'd never come out if I had it.

The Washington Post says D.C. is having the worst winter in recorded local history. So, my question is this. Is the worst winter ever caused by global warming or global cooling? Al? Anybody?

HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?
As sung by President Obama

In the midst of the controversy over President Obama’s negative comments about Las Vegas comes more bad news for Sin City.

The Ritz-Carlton Las Vegas Hotel will close in May. It is a 348 room, five-diamond property. It is only seven years old. The owners cite decreased demand and revenue.

The current owner is actually Village Hospitality, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank's German American Capital Corporation. It bought the hotel in a foreclosure sale in February 2009. Ritz-Carlton, the original owner, is a division of Marriott International .

One of the effects of the closing will be the loss of 350 jobs, although some may be relocated to other Ritz-Carlton properties. For a city already hit hard, this is bad news.

Some of the slow down in luxury hotel business is called the "AIG effect". It is named after the public’s anger at American International Group’s decision to send their top brokers and executives to a luxury hotel\resort right after AIG was bailed out by the government. You know, hey we are broke, we need help. Thanks for the help, we’re going on an expensive vacation to celebrate. Sucker.

Exacerbating the situation are comments by the President and other politicians about Las Vegas and corporate activities. This is ironic since Harry Reid, from Nevada, has been a staunch supporter of the President’s legislative package.

No good deed goes unpunished.

And, the law of unintended consequences applies. Obama rode to office on the breathless support of exactly the kind of people losing their jobs with the help of his comments.

It seems appropriate that Washington D.C. is getting a major snow job. Now they know how we feel.

READING THE STARTLEGRAM

Our beloved local newspaper certainly has its priorities straight regarding the news. Under "National Briefs", the first two items are about the lives of actors and former actors. The first, and I know you will be relieved to know this, Charlie Sheen and his wife are back together. This breathless news is from the Associated Press, so at least they did not send a reporter up to Colorado (from whence the story is posted) to follow Mr. Sheen and his wife around and report back to us on the status of their marriage.

The second item is that "former child television star" Gary coleman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor (also related to domestic violence). I mean, this guy is not even on tv any more, but it makes the paper if he goes to court?

The third item is the sentencing of a Chinese born engineer for passing on sensitive information to China. Which of these three seems most important to the nation?

The fourth story is that the Obama administration will spend $78.5 million. This, of course, is not news at all: they do that every day for any possible reason. This might be news worth because of the reason for the expense. I kid you not, the expense is to help keep giant Asian carp out ofh the Great lakes. I thought maybe part of the Chinese engineer's sentence could be to fish for giant Asian carp and take them back to Asia along with the secrets he stole. It seems fair to me.

And maybe Gary Coleman could help, even though the Giant Carp are probably bigger than Gary Coleman. Maybe Charlie Sheen could catch them, Gary Coleman could clean them and pack them, and the Chinese guy could take them back to China.

The picture is not of Charlie Sheen and his wife getting back together, but is Charlie Sheen and Gary Coleman holding a giant carp. The carp is in the middle.

Seriously, this would have many benefits. First, the Obama Administration could pay them with Stimulus Bill money and claim the creation of the first 3 jobs under that program.

Second, the export of the carp could be claimed to even out the import\export ration with China. For every DVD player you sent over, you have to take a carp.

Third, we could send carp to Haiti and claim it as humanitarian relief.

Fourth, we would have to use a lot of ice to keep the carp cool, which would help all those newly embarassed scientists and politicians claim that global warming exists. It must, because there is less ice than before. They just would put the part that it went to Haiti in a foot note or forget to mention it altogether.

Fifth, the could send any remaining carp to Las Vegas, because we know they would not come back. After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. The downside is, the President could not claim he was not carping about Las Vegas when Harry Reid calls to complain about the latest Vegas comment in an Obama speech. And, if a surplus of carp occurs in Las Vegas, they could send them to Los Angeles via the high speed train that a good chunk of the Stimulus money went to.

Sixth, carp could be fed to school children. It is lower in fat than chicken fingers, although you cannot tell it from looking at a chicken. Children would loose weight, partly because of the lack of fat, and even more so because they would never in a million years eat something called Giant Carp, so it would be a great diet plan, otherwise known as fasting.

Just as an aside to that fasting idea, I once had someone tell me not to fast because it shut the body's metabolism down and would make you gain weight. I guess, then, that all those really thin people starving in Somalia will eventually gain weight and get fat without our having to feed them.

Whew. Well, that is what you get when you read the Startlegram national briefs: a lot of carp.